Dream on Helen ... you're a real star

TOP grade ... Helen celebrates her graduation with husband Trung and parents Jean and David Milne

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HELEN Milne swap-ped life in North-West England for the American dream ... including a college graduation day.

Having left these shores 13 years ago to live and work as a nanny in the sun-drenched state of Florida, Helen was on the verge of returning to her roots when true love struck.

So instead of heading back to her former home in Tonacliffe Way, Whit-worth Helen married half-Vietnamese, half-French Trung Cao, a fitness co-ordinator with the Chicago Whitesox baseball team and stayed on in the land of opportunity.

After seven years caring for the three children of Carol and Alfonso Delfizzo in Sarasota, south of Tampa, 31-year-old Helen embarked upon a degree in elementary education.

Not only did she pass with flying colours she achieved the top possible marks in all her exams, receiving the King/ O'Neal Scholarship as a result - one of only two students in the Sarasota area to receive this from The University of South Florida.

Helen, a former Tonacliffe Primary, Thr-um Hall Middle and Falinge Park High School pupil, can now pursue her dream of teaching 11-year-old children in the area.

Her proud parents David and Jean visited America just before Christmas to see Helen receive the degree at Sarasota Opera House.

Proud David said: "She got the equivalent of A*s in every exam. She was always a worker but wouldn't go to university in this country as she wanted a job.

"First choice was the police or the fire service but her friend, who had also been a nanny in America, put her in touch with an agency and they found her a job in America. The family even bought her a Volvo Estate car when she was 18. She was very lucky."

Jean said: "Helen still keeps in touch with the family and their teenage daughter Alessandra was flower girl at her wedding."

After watching the ceremony David and Jean stayed with their daughter for a further week. They spent Christmas Day playing golf at a course just across the street from Helen and Trung's bungalow home, which they share with two pet Weimaraner dogs and two cats.

In the baking Florida heat they cooked steaks on the barbecue for Christmas dinner but stuck to the traditional Christmas pudding for dessert.

"I brought the pudding and Cadbury's selection boxes in my case," said Jean.

On Christmas Eve the four sipped Pina Coladas and travelled in Helen's jet boat to waterside restaurants.

"The last time we spent Christmas together Helen and Trung came here but he didn't like it," said Jean, who works in the finance department at Birch Hill Hospital. "He said everything was grey."

And that is something that David and Jean can relate to - they fell in love with the Florida sunshine and bought a house just a mile away from Helen's.

"We eventually want to move there because we want the sunshine," said David. "And we want to see more of Helen. We are very proud of her. She has done really well."